Human Or Robot: Blade Runner

Welcome To The Review!

Welcome back to another review from LL! This week I have decided that I would review another must-see in the film industry, which will have another film released, in it’s franchise. Blade Runner! Again I’m not going to warn you about spoilers, purely because it has been out for so long.

How To Define A Human?

So, here we are again, discussing another one of the greats. However, I want to elaborate on this film with more suspicions and thoughts, purely because we will be seeing Blade Runner 2049 in cinemas soon. First off, lets talk about how we define a replicant from a human (especially the Nexus 6 model). So Rick Deckard, being a retired blade runner (effectively a replicant hunter), is pulled out of retirement to finish off a case. The case was aimed at tracking down four replicants that have come to Earth, to find their creator. (Let me fill in a few quick blanks for some of you that haven’t seen the film. Replicants were created, to be used as labourers, on other planets from Earth, to fill in the work that needed to be done. They were “exiled” from Earth, so that it was safe to say that all humans lived on Earth.)

Right, back to the topic, the blade runners used a machine known as the Voight-Kampff machine (VK), which is a form of polygraph testing on the iris of the eye. How it works is that a series of questions are asked, to create an emotional reaction. With a human, the iris won’t change based on the reaction, whereas with a Replicant, a response will happen that signifies a difference in them. If you are really interested in it, then have a read into it, it’s some pretty techie stuff. So, what do I think of the machine? Well it’s eye-opening (no pun intended), as it can identify the difference between a human and anything else. But at the same time it segregates the species from one another, and can cause distress (due to the fact that the Nexus 6 models have gained emotions in their programming). A prime example would be Rachel, who doesn’t realise she is a replicant until tested, in which she instantly leaves.

Why Ban Replicants From Earth?

Now here is when we see the picture, and real understanding of why they are separated. As stated, they are used as labourers, but why are they not used on Earth, for that role? Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that, as humans, we want to feel safe and know that it is just us on Earth. It creates a protection bubble, in which they know they are separated from a robot that is pretty much identical. Both physically and mentally, they can be identified as human to the naked eye. Which asks the question, is everyone on Earth human or not?

There have been a lot of theories and superstitions, created around what it is like on planet Earth, in the film. My idea behind it is that there are replicants living alongside humans on Earth together, but no ones knows about it due to the fact that the Nexus 6 model is an exact identical twin to the human. Due to the fact that Dr. Eldon Tryell has his own personal assistant. who is a replicant, and as well as this, the main reason the replicants have come home is to see their creator. The fact they are coming at all, instantly shouts vengeance. Vengeance for what? Well slavery. Being created to work for labour, under a different being, sounds very similar to a lost past doesn’t it.

Have a look at this shot. A rainy, misted scene, in which we have our cop car in the background, with a prestigious figure in the foreground. Lets identify a few points, firstly he is off centre, to show the cop car in the background, thus demonstrating his role. He is also identified as prestigious because of what he is wearing, a black hat, a trench coat, with a bow tie and a cane. That tells you he is one of the top dogs on/in the police force. As well as this, the scenes colour palette consists of blue, black, grey, white and a little bit of colour with yellow and red. Just from the colour palette we can understand that it is not good news, him being there.

Where Will We Take Off From This One With 2049?

Well, first off, let me tell you what has been identified already. The sequel starts 30 years after the events of the first film, and the main narrative is going to be based around a new officer (Ryan Gosling), attempting to find Rick Deckard, about a long unearthed secret. Now, this could be numerous, and I mean NUMEROUS events. It could be because of the fact that Replicants have lived on Earth all along, or it could be that Rachel (a Nexus 6 model) is still alive, and has begun conspiring to bring Replicants back to Earth. Trust me I have thought a lot about this, and there are a lot of directions they can head in.

What do I think? Well, I think Replicants have lived among humans, for a very long time, and that it has only just recently been discovered. That’s how I see it, but then it’s a matter of what do they do after that. Personally, where Blade Runner left off, with one of the last lines being “It’s too bad she won’t live, but then again, who does?” (this is Gaff talking to Deckard), that line talks about the idea of life: who is really living and who is not? Although Gaff is blatantly talking about Rachel, he then teases to the fact that no one could be living. This can be taken in one of two directions. Either everyone is a Replicant, and that no one is living, or he is saying that because Replicants are exactly the same as human, what is the real kind of living?

Final Thoughts

Well this theory-based review, is one I found quite interesting, as it brings in a lot of speculation, as to what is real and what isn’t. Following from this, we now have a lot of ideas as to what could be done, in the sequel when it comes to unearthing a secret. The question is what is the secret that has been hidden for so many years.

Well that wraps up this review, what did you think of it? Do these rumours seem believable or do you think that it will head in a completely other direction? Leave your thoughts below whether they be critical or not.